The Mystery of Coffee Cups
by LovinJackson
Summary: After Everybody Loves a Clown Dean's guilty feelings over taking his frustrations out on his brother lead the boys to bond over a strange mystery. ONESHOT


**The Mystery of Coffee Cups**

**Author:** Tara aka LovinJackson

**Summary:** After "Everybody Loves a Clown" Dean's guilty feelings about taking his frustrations out on his brother lead the boys to bond over a strange mystery. ONESHOT

**Spoilers:** Everything up to "Everybody Loves a Clown"

**Disclaimer:** It saddens me to admit that i do not own Dean, Sam or Bobby or supernatural at all but i do have fun playing in Kripke's sandbox hehe

**Authors Note:** Hey Guys ... just a **ONESHOT** this time :) This one goes out to **Mellie** who gave me this idea as a joke. Well it turned into a fic girl so i hope you like it (there's no John but he is spoken about lol) this one is for you lol Anyone else who reads this i really hope you enjoy it ... i know i'm going a bit backwards but i had to write it once the idea was in my head hehe

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**The Mystery of Coffee Cups**

Dean sighed and stood up from his inspection of his almost completely restored Impala. He wiped his greased up hands on his jeans and then wiped clumsily at the sweat that had broken out on his forehead not noticing the smear of grease he left behind right above his eyebrow.

He was suddenly very thirsty and he spotted the bottle of water he had left sitting on top of the work bench. The water was warmish but it still felt refreshing after working in the warm sun all day. What he really needed, he decided was a beer. Yes a beer sounded great. In fact ten beers sounded great with everything that had happened in the last month or how ever long it had been. Dean tried not to think about it all too much.

Sam didn't understand. The Impala's restoration wasn't just about his love for the old car. Dean didn't want time to think too much. They had nothing to go on in regards to finding the demon that had not only destroyed their lives once but now twice and with nothing to do Dean's mind could not stop replaying his last moments with his father. The words that had been whispered in his ear had been so cryptic yet so clear. _You need to save your brother or you'll have to kill him._ That part had been crystal clear. The words whispered still haunted his dreams when he allowed himself to sleep. They screamed in his head whenever he looked at his little brother and that killed him even more.

He hadn't meant to be such a jerk lately but the wall that had kept unwanted emotions at bay his whole life was crumbling under the pressure of the weight his father had placed on his shoulders. His fathers bombshell; had left his already muddled mind reeling, not being able to voice the questions he so desperately shouted in his mind.

Questions, that's all he had been left with. How had he survived? What did the Demon want with his brother? What did his father want him to save his brother from and why would he have to kill him? In retrospect his father hadn't told him much at all. He had died just leaving more questions, making Dean promise to keep the secret to himself. Dean's annoying suspicion about his father's death and its connection to his miraculous recovery was only making him go all the more insane. Dean knew that he was on the edge and for once in his young life he couldn't seem to contain it all inside him which was even more frustrating.

Aside from all that, the shock of his father's death by itself was still hovering over him like a dark cloud. Sam could see it; Bobby could see it. Hell, even Ellen, a woman he had just met could see it. But Dean wasn't like Sam. He wasn't all that good on that whole caring and sharing thing.

Sam. The thought of his little brother brought a pained grimace to his face. The kid was so screwed up right now. One minute hunting wasn't good enough for him and now that their Dad was dead, now he was all gung ho about it. Dean had confronted him about it in a heated exchange which he regretted almost instantly as soon as he had seen the hurt look on his little brothers face. Sam was hurting but with everything on top of Sam's new desire to be a badass hunter had Dean unleashing his anger and frustrations. Words had been spoken that had he been in more control of his own emotions he might have been more delicate about it. Sam was just trying to deal in his own way. After all John had been his father too.

Dean's attention was brought back to the Impala. She'd been a mess when he'd first seen her sitting in Bobby's junkyard. She'd almost been unrecognisable. She'd been broken … not unlike he'd felt since 10:41 am on the day his world had gone to shit. Dean hadn't been entirely sure he would be able to fix himself but he was damn well going to fix her. She was his car, his home, his baby but most importantly she was a member of his screwed up family and he had lost too many family members in his life, he was determined not lose anymore.

Dean let a ghost of a smile grace his face, the first truthful smile he'd allowed himself for almost a month. His baby was looking good, so much better than when he had first seen her when he had gotten out of hospital. Sure she still needed a bit more work and definitely a new paint job but it was a small relief to see her looking more like herself. Seeing her a little more whole did make him feel better even if only just a little bit.

His eyes settled on the newly installed trunk. Flashes of his attack on his beloved car came to his mind. He'd been so lost and angry at everything when Sam had left him to _get back to work._ It had all been too much and lashing out had been the only thing he had been capable of. The Impala had been convenient. John had given him the car and he was reminded of that whenever he saw her.

Dean looked out over the Junkyard towards Bobby's house. Sam had made sure to steer clear of him since admitting his true feelings those few days ago and he was a little ashamed to admit that he hadn't exactly been looking for his brother either. Sure they had seen each other in passing when Dean had eventually had to venture inside the house but the moments had been awkward and tense. Dean had to hand it to Bobby. The man had been trying to lighten the mood and help ease the tension between them but generally avoidance had been the chosen way to deal with everything.

Dean was glad that they had Bobby to count on. The hunter/mechanic had been awesome, handling anything that the boys hadn't been able to, even keeping a look out for their father's truck. He'd given them a roof over their head and had been keeping an eye on Sam while Dean took the time to fix the Impala and get his thoughts straight. He would never be able to truly thank Bobby enough for all he had done without being asked but he would always feel thankful to have the man on their side.

Dean shook his head trying to dispel his depressing thoughts. There was nothing more he could do with the Impala until some of the new parts Bobby had ordered came in the next day so Dean decided to head over to the house and maybe even get a late lunch. Sam hadn't nagged him to eat properly in a few days and that in it self should put up warning signals and just because Sam hadn't been around to be a mother hen that didn't mean that Dean couldn't feel his worry vibes. Dean wasn't psychic but he was a big brother. Maybe he would run into the brooding 6 ft 4 tall human being he called a brother and they could eat together. It was way beyond time they talked or at least mend some of the weirdness between them. None of what had happened was Sam's fault, including what their father had dumped on Dean and if he cold get the words past his lips Dean wanted to apologise for taking it out on him, or at least show him in a way that only Dean could.

With one last look at his almost completely repaired car Dean took off towards the house. Bobby's pick up was parked at the front of the house which most likely meant that Bobby was inside. He reached the steps and was about to bound up them when he thought he heard something. He stopped mid step and listened.

"_Damn it!"_

Yep. Someone was definitely around the back of the house and from the sounds of things it was Sam. He would recognise his little brothers voice anywhere. The guy sounded frustrated. For one moment Dean thought about ignoring Sam and heading inside but the niggling part of his mind that reminded him that he was a big brother and that he still needed to set things right with Sam caused him to take a step back from the porch.

Dean sighed tiredly as he dodged various hubcaps and car parts on his way to the back of Bobby's house. Getting to the end of the house Dean stopped and listened with a curious and confused look on his face. It sounded like something was being dropped to the ground … something wet, followed by footsteps and then grumbling. What the hell could his brother be doing, Dean thought to himself as the sounds repeated themselves.

There was only one way to find out so Dean prepared himself and the rounded the corner. The sight that greeted him was not one that the hunter had expected. There stood his little brother towering over about five Styrofoam coffee cups all in various toppled over positions. Sam looked to be studying the white cups with a seriousness he reserved for school work and hunting research.

Dean looked around them for a threat. A threat against what he didn't know. Sam seemed physically fine from what he could see. The coffee cups on the other hand weren't fairing so well. Sam had a frown marring his still bruised features. He was obviously not happy about something … but coffee cups?

Dean cleared his throat, alerting his brother that he was there. The fact that Sam should have heard him approach was at the back of his mind. They would have to work on that later.

Sam looked up slightly shocked to see his recently non-existent brother standing there. "Dean." He looked back down at the cups.

"Sammy … whatcha doing?" he asked lightly, taking slow steps towards Sam and the troublesome Styrofoam collection.

Sam looked back up giving his brother an annoyed and frustrated look and Dean thought he saw a tiny bit of embarrassment hidden there too. "What's with …" Dean made a vague gesture to the coffee cups lying around. "… all this?"

Sam sighed. "I was trying to work it out." He explained. Dean frowned, clearly not getting what Sam was going on about.

"Work what out?"

"The coffee."

Dean raised his eyebrows giving a confused look to the coffee cups before looking back up at his brother who still wasn't looking at him. "Oh yes …" he replied, sarcasm oozing out of his voice. "…the coffee."

Dean was starting to get concerned. Sam was starring at his experiment like it had the answers to the universe. The boy looked so lost and so much younger with his face all bruised a cruel reminder of their encounter with that yellow-eyed son of a bitch.

Sam suddenly seemed to snap out of it and stepped back bringing his hand up to the back of his neck. "It's nothing Dean."

Dean held both of his hands up. "Oh no, no, no you cant launch an attack of poor unsuspecting Styrofoam cups without clueing me in."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother dramatics. "I wasn't launching an attack Dean."

"Okay then … so what _were_ you doing?" Dean brought his hands back down to rest them on his jean clad hips.

Sam sighed in defeat. He knew Dean wasn't going to let up until he told him now and it really wasn't what he wanted their first conversation in days to be about. It was ridiculous really and it was just his luck that Dean would catch him in the act.

"You really wanna know?"

Dean groaned in frustration. Isn't that what he had just said? "Yes!"

"Okay." Sam began, looking at his brother, taking in the tired and weathered exterior from long hours working on his beloved car for days. The only difference in Dean now was that he wasn't avoiding him like the plague. In fact he genuinely seemed interested in what Sam had to say. He even looked a little concerned. "If you really must know I was looking through Bobby's cupboards for a coffee mug and I came across these Styrofoam cups."

"And?"

"And they sort of got me … I don't know ... thinking about back at the hospital when … Dad … you know?" Sam stuttered still not sure how much to bring up their father's death around his brother.

"Okay." Dean drawled out. "I'm sure I'm gonna regret asking this but how is one related to the other?"

The memory of finding his father lying on the hospital room floor caused Sam to shudder and almost brought renewed tears to his eyes. The wound was still way too fresh but he'd be damned if he was going to cry in front of his brother again.

"Dad … he asked me to get him some _caffeine_. It was the last thing he said to me." Sam explained no longer looking at his brother. "On my way back from getting the coffee I found Dad … and I dropped the coffee to the ground."

Dean remained silent as his brother tried to explain to him what was going on in his mind.

"I realised after everything was quiet and you were with … Dad … that the coffee was sitting on the floor near the door. Hardly any coffee had been spilled."

Dean stood silently studying his brother before looking down and around at all the coffee cups littering the ground at the back of Bobby's house. He looked back up at Sam who seemed to find his shoes very interesting.

"Show me." Dean spoke up suddenly.

Sam looked up surprised. "What?"

"I said show me." Dean gestured to the three remaining coffee cups sitting safely on the back steps. He picked up two of the empty discarded cups and proceeded to fill them up with water from his water bottle. Once he had the two cups filled he placed one of them on the steps and picked up on containing coffee.

"Dean what are you doing?" Sam asked confused.

"Conducting an experiment what does it look like Sherlock?"

With a smirk at his brother Dean first dropped the coffee and then the cup containing water. He stood back and studied and fallen cups. The water had toppled right over spilling its contents where as the coffee was still standing but also missing most of its contents.

"Huh." Dean mumbled after a few silent moments of contemplation, time in which Sam had been watching his brother wondering if he had finally lost the plot. "I think I have your answer Sammy." Dean finally announced.

"And that would be?"

"Hospital coffee sucks," Dean replied looking quite proud of him self.

"Hospital coffee sucks is your great deduction?"

"Yep. It's a widely known fact Sammy. The coffee you had at the hospital was probably thicker, which means heavier, which means it would have more chance of withstanding a fall intact with minimal spillage."

Sam nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face. Dean looked so serious. The man had finally lost it. Sam couldn't contain the burst of laughter causing Dean's mouth to quirk in response. It had been a while since the kid had laughed or had anything to laugh at. If you didn't count Sam's enjoyment when Dean was nearly got beat up by the fake blind man and the circus midget from days before.

"What?" Dean asked in amusement. As a matter of fact when was the last time he had smiled, aside from making fun of his brother's fear of clowns?

"Thanks man." Sam risked a pat to Dean's upper arm. It was the closest they had been to each other in days and the younger hunter's heart was warmed when Dean didn't pull away. "You've solved the mystery of the coffee cup."

Bobby headed toward the back of his house in search of a particular book Sam had been asking about earlier. He stopped near the back door when he surprisingly heard not one but two Winchester's out there. To say things had been awkward between John's boys lately would have been an understatement so Bobby was more than a little curious at what had brought the two stubborn boys together again.

"_Thanks man."_

Bobby inched closer to the screen door and peaked out. Sam and Dean were standing just outside the back door, spilt beverages littered all around them.

"_You've solved the mystery of the coffee cup." _

Bobby looked at Sam as he spoke. The kid had a big goofy smile on his face and looking at Dean Bobby saw that the oldest Winchester brother wore a similar smile.

Mystery of the coffee cup, was he missing something? Quite obviously he was. Bobby walked away shaking his head in amusement. Those Winchester's could be a strange lot but if spilt coffee was going to get those two boys on talking terms again then Bobby would supply them with as much coffee as was needed. John's death had been a blow to everyone but Bobby was sure of one thing. Those Winchesters might be a strange lot but John's boys together could overcome anything, even the mystery of coffee cups.

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Sorry guys i posted it but some of it was missing ... is being hinky with me lol Anyways i hope you enjoyed the read and please Review if you can coz i would love to know what you thought! Have a great weekend everyone :D

Thanks for reading :D

Tara x0x


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